One way or another it was a windy weekend for sprinting. In Kingston it was a cool breeze as Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell made the 100 metres look as easy as a walk on the beach in Jamaica's Olympic trials. To the north, in Eugene, Oregon, a gale blew Tyson Gay to the fastest ever time of 9.68sec in the United States trials, but it was too strong to allow the record to stand. And here in Europe an ill wind blew in from Germany where Dwain Chambers ran fast enough to send legal papers flying in the direction of the British Olympic Association.

Whereas Gay, Bolt and Powell have whetted the appetite for what promises to be a great Olympic 100m, Chambers has again brought a bad taste to the mouth with his continued quest for self-restoration. The petition that the British Athletes Commission published yesterday reportedly had more than 100 names on it and, had the athletes sought more signatures, I have little doubt they would have got them.

This is old ground but if, as it seems, Chambers and his legal team are intent on serving their own selfish needs in the misguided belief that he has somehow been treated unfairly, it is important that the opposing view, too, is well represented. Apart from the fact that Chambers was fully aware of the BOA bylaw that bans all drug offenders from Olympic selection when he embarked on his pharmaceutical fraud, he has hardly painted the picture of the clean, focused and contrite individual he would have us believe.

At least the Tour de France rider David Millar took the view that, once caught, he could do nothing but further harm to his sport by contesting the ban and pursuing his own Olympic ambition, especially when he had no hope of winning. Chambers should for once put his own interests to one side. How much did he care about the Olympics when, just a couple of months ago, he was sidestepping on the turf at Castleford telling everyone how much he would love to play rugby league? If any athlete on lottery funding had indulged in such a distraction from his burning desire to make the Olympics he would surely and rightly have had that support withdrawn. Unfortunately, now that he has achieved the Olympic qualifying time, normal athletics will find itself taking a back seat in the 11 days leading up to our Olympic trials and that surely goes against all the things Chambers has espoused since his return in the indoor season. If he really wants to help athletics he should call his lawyers off and let the sport he shamed tackle drug cheats.

A recent report highlighted the fact that those who have used the type of drugs that Chambers did have an enduring effect long beyond any two-year ban. The muscle and synaptic development does not disappear quickly and the training effect alone will continue to confer advantage. It will be a sad day if he competes in the trials and then goes on to gain a place in our team, just as it was equally sad to see Torri Edwards, for instance, make the American team this weekend.

Sadly cynicism and doubt surround athletics and some who watched, or registered from afar, the exploits of Gay, Bolt and Powell this weekend will probably have shaken their heads and wondered how it had suddenly become so easy to run 9.85 and quicker. In light of experience over recent years I have no answer to those doubts except to accept what I see until anything happens to the contrary, as one has to do with any other sport.

If, come August, Gay, Bolt and Powell do line up in the final in Beijing, then I for one will be genuinely excited by the prospect of what I am about to witness and I hope millions of others will feel the same way. It would be nice to think that Chambers will be sitting at home watching too but, if his appeal fails, I would be surprised if his interest lasts that long. The next few days look like determining whether this self-motivated tornado continues to wreak havoc or finally loses force altogether.